How to score Crazy Eights

How the scoring works, hand by hand

Crazy Eights is scored at the end of each hand. Play it out, then enter what everyone was left holding.

There is nothing to tap while you play — come back when somebody goes out.

What you need

One regular deck of cards and two to eight players.

Everyone plays for themselves — there are no partners.

Deal five cards each (seven if only two of you are playing). The rest go face down as the pile to draw from, and the top card is turned over to start.

If you’ve played Uno, you already know this

Uno grew out of Crazy Eights. It is the same game with its own deck.

Match the colour or the number; wild cards let you change the colour. Here you match the suit or the number, and the eights are the wild cards.

So if somebody at the table has played Uno, they can start straight away.

Taking your turn

Look at the card on top of the pile. Play any card from your hand that matches its suit or its number.

A seven of hearts can be followed by any other heart, or by any other seven.

An eight can be played on anything at all. When you play one, say which suit you want next — that is the whole trick of the game.

If you cannot play, draw a card. Most tables let you keep drawing until you find something you can use.

Points are bad

This is the part that catches people out. You are not collecting points — you are trying to avoid them.

The moment somebody plays their last card, the hand stops. They score nothing at all.

Everyone still holding cards adds theirs up, and that number goes on the board against them.

So the player with the SMALLEST total is winning, all the way through.

What the cards cost

An eight is the dear one: 50 points. That is why you do not sit on them waiting for the perfect moment.

A ten, Jack, Queen or King costs 10 each.

Everything else costs what it says — a five costs five. An ace costs one.

You can change any of these in the rules if your family plays differently. Twenty for an eight is common.

How the game ends

Keep playing hands until somebody’s total reaches the limit — 100 is the usual number.

That player has not won. Reaching the number is what ENDS the game, and then the lowest score wins it.

If two players tie at the bottom, most tables call it a draw and shake hands.

How you’ll score in the app

After each hand, tap “New hand”. Turn on “Went out” for whoever finished first — that clears their score to nothing.

For everyone else, count how many eights they’re holding, how many tens and court cards, then add up the small cards and type that one number.

The app does the multiplying. Counting three eights is easy; working out that they cost 150 is where people slip.

Words you will hear at the table

If it is your first time

• Play your eights rather than saving them. An eight in your hand at the end costs 50; an eight you played cost nothing and let you choose the suit.
• Watch what suit people keep asking for. If somebody keeps naming spades, they are holding spades.
• Getting rid of tens and court cards early is worth more than it looks — they are 10 apiece if you get caught.